Blair Collection > Gaelic names of beasts (mammalia), birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, etc

cow 97
Macrae — a name which has not missed its mark in literature —
alias MacCurchi (Mac' Urchaidh, Mac Mhurachaidh), a famous
Kintail bard, after a great loss of cattle ; this song is said to be
little short of anything composed in Gaelic, which is indeed praise.
The famous poem "Crodh Chailein," or Colin's cows, will be found,
with a translation, as said under the article Deer. Apropos of the
Macfarlane's gathering song, a relic of "lifting" times remains
in the toast still occasionally given at appropriate meetings of
" Geumnaich bha," the lowing of cows.
Where cows played so prominent a part in the Celtic world as
has been shortly above shown, it would be unlikely that they
Avould escape the superstition of the day ; the very cow-fetter or
biiarac/i had to be lonnaid cliaoraiun 's gaosaid staUain, Rowan-tree
withe and stallion's hair. It should be carefully looked after
and preserved from any other getting at it.
A Lowland word or term for a cow with her hind legs tied
is "barroughed" or "borroughed," evidently derived from the
Gaelic word " Buarach," a cow-fetter, i.e., bo arach, a cow spancel.
A cow with her fore feet tied is said to be " spenshelled " or
" spancelled." Buarach (bo-arach), is also a cow owner or breeder,
bo arach buan-blechta, a cow owner of constant milk ; " bo-thain "
means a drove of cows, while " buagailteach " means cow-feeding.
The word buachar, cow's dung, is bo ghaorr, which was used as
fuel when dried, and termed buacharan or bacharan ; other terms
are, for a cow that is prone to forsake her pasture to steal into
a cornfield, aidhmhilteach ; a tie or collar round the neck is arach
or braighdean ; the cow house bathaich, bathaiche, or ba' iche
(i.e., ba theach), while the cleansing of a cow after calving is
ba' ain or badhar ; a cow-stall is buaigheal, also bualaidh ; while
we find "buaghair" and "cailbhearr" mean herd or herder. A
cow's dewlap is "sbrogaill." A cow's shed or milking yard is
also termed "lias agus macha," the latter tern:i is still used in
Kilkenny. A shealing is also said to be "arrairigh" and "airidh,"
the produce; another name for shealing is "ruighe," while in
Irish we have " Bo-both " for cow-house ; we also find " inis "
given as a milking yard. Before proceeding further on this
part of the subject, we may give "some good points" of a
cow, viz. : —
I bhi leathann os a cionn
Goirid bho 'n da shuil gu 'beul
Fionnadh fada dubh 's e dluth
'S nach b' airde fo'n ghlun na mo reis
An aiseaiin fada domhainn ci'om
'S i truiste 'na com air an fheill
Togail innte suas gu barr
'S i aigeannach na 'naduir fein
Adharc fhada ghorm no dhearg
Cluas mhor 'us earball da reir
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